BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO March 2 (Reuters) - Mining company
Samarco and its owners, BHP Billiton and Vale SA
, reached a deal with the Brazilian government on
Wednesday to pay an estimated 20 billion reais ($5.1 billion) in
damages over 15 years for a deadly dam spill in November.

Considered Brazil's worst environmental disaster, the burst
tailings dam in the state of Minas Gerais killed 19 people, left
hundreds homeless and polluted a major river.

Of the total, Samarco will pay 4.4 billion reais
through 2018 into a fund to cover the cleanup of the spill from
the tailings dam. From 2019 to 2021, payments will be between
800 million reais and 1.6 billion reais.

"We want to build new life on the rubble of an unprecedented
tragedy," President Dilma Rousseff said at the signing ceremony
in Brasilia.

Beyond 2021, the amount will be decided depending on how
much work remains to be done. The government estimates the total
cost of the lengthy environmental plan, including replanting and
dredging, will reach about 20 billion reais.
Continuación...